US stocks: Dow Jones plummets over 500 points after Trump orders US Navy to kill any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz

Wall Street's main indexes slumped over 1% on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump ordered its Navy to shoot and kill any boat that is laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions in the already fragile ceasefire. The Dow Jones Index fell over 500 points, while tech heavy Nasdaq fell over 300 points.

US forces, meanwhile, said they had intercepted two more Iran-linked vessels in the Indian Ocean, boarding one and escorting the other, according to Wall Street Journal.

Earlier, Iran tightened control over the Strait of Hormuz as Tehran released footage of its commandos storming a huge cargo ship that they claimed to have seized on Wednesday, while demanding the US lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports.


Investors keen to ‌look past war-related ⁠risks have ⁠shown strong resilience in recent days, but some fatigue has set in, leading to brief episodes of risk aversion, as they await more clarity on how and when the conflict may ultimately be resolved.

With oil prices over $100 a barrel, the risk of an inflation flare-up also remains.

Data on Thursday showed that the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased only ⁠marginally last week, but risks from war-driven higher prices still threaten the economy.

S&P Global's flash US Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, increased this month after almost stagnating in March, but the improvement was largely due to what it said was "stock building in the face of concerns over supply availability and price hikes."

The earnings season has been largely strong so far, but because the results reflect only one month of disruption from the Middle East conflict, some are questioning how dependable they are as a gauge of what lies ‌ahead.